Reflection on Profile Wiki

The profile wiki task was my introduction to the concept of the 'wiki'. As I have discovered that my learning preferences lies towards sensing, verbal and active styles, this task ticked many boxes for me. The wiki profile made sense, it was a logical progession of mini-tasks, and provided the end goal of getting to know my fellow classmates. I felt that I had achieved something and learnt a new skill.

Looking at this with the perpective of a 'newbie' I think that this type of task would support my learners in the future, firstly,as a great introduction to ICT's and secondly, as an 'ice breaker' within the class community. I would agree that this task supports the four learning theories we have been introduced to. Connectivism definitely, as it claims to be the learning theory for the digital age (Siemens). I have seen this in myself, where I will quickly read/watch something on the computer, make a qucik judgement of the material and definitely note how to get back there for clarification in the future. Thus choosing what I want to learn and creating the meaning that has significance for me. Constructivsm also is supported by this task, if we agree that 'social interaction has a large influence on learning'. (Vygotsky) The nature of the profile wiki forces students to have contact with their peers. Practices of behaviourism are present, as the wiki provides measurable outcomes, and example would be the tutorials for creating your wiki. To a lessor degree, cognitivism because the wiki highlighted each students way of learning.

How does this design support a diverse range of students? I suppose I am a good example of one end of the spectrum. A newbie to the world of wikis, I was able to complete the task. Those with greater experience would have little trouble with it. Also as a flex student, I could still participate whilst being quite a distance from the university campus. As an online activity, this supports learning that traditional methods could not. Distance would be a major stumbling block, and thus discount me to be eligible to participate. The activity itself is a good example of how ICT's could be used in the classroom, after all lets not forget that we are teachers training to teach 21st century learners.